Legos and Army Men
by Obi the Kid
Summary: This is a dialogue only story that takes place somewhere around 7.2. Sam struggles with Lucifer in his head as Dean tries to bring him back.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Legos and Army Men

**Author:** Obi the Kid

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** This is a dialogue only story that takes place somewhere around 7.2. Sam struggles with Lucifer in his head as Dean tries to bring him back.

**Note:** Writing this before the rest of Sam's Lucifer/hallucinations play out, obviously I have no idea how those things will resolve, but it felt like a good place to stick an early season story idea for me. Not sure if this works well or not as I tried to keep the boy's in character as best I could, but you know when you get those plot bunnies chomping at the bit, sometimes you just gotta write them!

**_BOLD ITALICS_** are Lucifer's voice. Had trouble with the formatting, hopefully this posts okay.

* * *

"Dean, what are you doing?"

"I - am watching my ginormous sized little brother sleep and I am holding his hand as he does it. And yes, this does qualify as a chick-flick moment, so spare me the ridicule."

"Okay, I get that. You're watching him sleep. Why?"

"Because he needs to sleep, Bobby and he can't do it because Lucifer's inside his mellon telling him lies and making him nuts and pretending he's me. Sam's exhausted and it's only making things worse than they already are."

"You ain't been able to help him much when he's awake, how you think you can help when he's out?"

"Lucifer pushes him one way and I pull him the other and I wake him up when he starts getting lost in there. When Sam starts pulling his hand away from mine, he's gotta be running from something, right? So, I'm gonna sit here and each time Sam tries to run from what's not real, I'm gonna try and be what is real."

"There's a chance he's too far gone for that, you saw him earlier today."

"No. If he can have conscious moments of knowing who the hell I am, I mean the real me, not the Lucified-version of me, then there's a sane piece of brother still in there that Lucifer hasn't grabbed yet. There's gotta be. You know why? Because that bitch ain't takin' my brother again, Bobby."

"Okay then. You need anything?"

"No. Thanks. I'm good for now."

"Yell if ya do."

**_Saaaam. _**

**_Why fight me, Sam? You think your brother's still there trying to help you?_**

**_Hmmm. Maybe he's dead. Maybe he's me. Maybe I'm him. So many possibilities. _**

**_Or, better yet, could be he's back in Hell. We've got vacancies for your holiday travels, you know. Winchester special rates._**

**_What I can tell you for certain is that that thing you keep wanting to talk to, the thing you think is your brother out there in your little dream world? Nah. It's me. As Dean. Just little old me. After all, I've got to find a sense of humor in something, don't I? And you, you are just the world's most perfect toy, aren't you? Those puppy dog eyes of yours, so innocent and safe…oh, but maybe not so much anymore. _**

**_Oh, Sam, come on. Don't start that. Calling out to your brother like that, thinking he can drag you out of what you think isn't real. _**

**_This is real Sam. I am real. _**

**_Sam…_**

"Sam! Don't listen to him, Sammy. I know he's there right now. Whatever crap he's trying to fill your head with, it's not true. You hear me? That's not your reality, Sam. This is. I am. You're at Bobby's house, on his couch. Smells like Old Spice and whiskey, right? No, Sam. Don't pull your hand away. Your reality is with me, your brother. Your _real_ brother. Not the cheap carbon double that Lucifer's trying to sell you. He's full of lies, Sam. Nothin' but lies, man, you know that. If he looks like me, don't trust him. Don't listen to that version of me inside your head. Listen to _this_ me, here. My voice. My hand. It's safe here, Sammy."

**_That voice. It's so familiar and comforting, Sam, isn't it? Or should I call you Sammy? You miss your brother. More than anything, you'd kill to be back with him. But he's not your brother, Sam. Never has been. _**

**_Now, now, don't be confused. You do have – well, you did have a brother. Dean's long gone, Sam. He could be dead like I said before, or could be he just walked away from you. Maybe he finally discovered the real you inside that malleable exterior of yours. That darkness you play with, that comes popping out every so often. I'm thinking that Dean got tired of it and moved on with his life. Away from you. Away from everything that you are and everything that you ever were. Disowned by your own brother. Yes. I like that. _**

**_Which is worse, Sam? Dean back in Hell or Dean leaving you completely and utterly alone for the rest of your life?_**

**_Let go of the hand that you think is his. He's not there to hold you up anymore, Sam._**

**_Let it go. _**

"Sam, don't you dare pull away. Come on! You gotta stay with me, brother. Remember the talk we had about hallucinations? Remember me telling you I'd kick your ass if you gave up on reality? I mean it, man. I will. Moose or not, you're still my little brother. I can take you. So, if you don't want a good old fashioned ass kickin', then you get yours away from Lucifer and stop listening to him. The lies are his, not mine, Sam. I'm not dead. I'm not in Hell. I'm right here next to you. I know he's in there right now, wrapping you in the biggest fattest pack of lies he can pile up. There's no truth in what he's telling you, Sam. He'll only hurt you. All he's ever done is hurt you."

**_Dean, Dean, Dean. Don't you wish that was him, Sam? Don't you need that to be him? Don't you wish your big brother was really here holding your hand and telling you everything will be just fine and dandy? _**

**_I'm part of you now. There's no lie in that._**

**_You know the truth, Sam. You've seen it. I am the truth. I am reality. _**

"Okay, Sam. Enough of this sleeping - or attempted sleeping crap. Wake up! No, don't let go of my hand! Don't let him tell you this isn't me. This _is_ me, Sam. I promise you. I swear on my baby's life, man. But I suppose he's got an Impala too, huh? Adding her to the game so you can't be sure of anything. But this is where you got him, Sam. He doesn't know the Impala like we do. It's _our _home. You and I, we don't have much of anything, but the one thing we have is that damn car. All the time we spent in that thing as kids. It was our home and our babysitter all wrapped in painted black metal. Remember carving our initials in the dash? Feeding the army guy to the ash tray? Shoving those Legos into the vents? Dad never forgave us for that one. I can still hear the lecture he gave us afterwards and then you and me, Sam, laughing about it like it was the funniest thing in the world. They still rattle too, don't they? Lucifer can't tell you the truth about those things because they don't mean anything to him. To him, they're just words. But for us, man – for you and me? It's everything. So, you don't listen to him, Sammy. Hear me? He doesn't know shit about you and me. He doesn't know a damn thing about what we have."

**_Convincing, isn't he, Sam? Even got the whole misty-eyed thing going quite well. Always the emotional mess when it comes to you. Too bad you know the truth about your reality. _**

**_That dream world out there with what appears to be your brother? Just a dream. It's only want you think you want. _**

**_I know better._**

**_Your imagined brother…If only he was real…_**

**_Oh, now Sam, don't leave. Not yet. I'm not finished playing yet. _**

**_Fine. Go along. Follow the lie that you believe to be Dean. Don't you worry though. More games to come. Enjoy your non reality for a bit longer. _**

**_See you soon, Sam._**

"Hey, Sammy."

"Dean?"

"Yeah. It's me. Really me. Don't carp on whatever he stuck in your head. This is me, man. I'm flesh and blood and…I'm here."

"My hand hurts."

"Because you're squeezing mine like a friggin' vise grip."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't let go. Just…hang onto reality for a few minutes first, okay?"

"He says you're not real. That maybe you're dead or in Hell. That maybe you just left."

"Where the hell would I go, man?"

"Away from me."

"Yeah, like you're getting rid of me that easy."

"You're not my brother. You're not Dean."

"I am, Sam. You know I am. Deep down, you know it. Why else would I be sitting here holding your damn hand like a girl? I don't hand hold, Sam, in case you forgot."

"Chick-flick?"

"You know it, brother. I'll let you have this one though."

"It's not so bad."

"I suppose I'll live. There's no witnesses around anyway. Hey, do you see him right now?"

"No. Just you."

"And you know I'm real, right?"

"I don't…I think so. I…I remember Legos and army men."

"I may have been babbling about those things when I was trying to wake you up."

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"He'll come back."

"I know. We'll figure this out, Sam. We will. But until we find a permanent solution, you gotta remember how to come back to me, okay? And that I'm the real deal, not some figment of his lies."

"Okay."

"Better yet, just remember Legos and army men. That's the doorway to your reality."

"And it means I'm okay. You're here. Bobby. The Impala."

"That's all we got, Sammy."

"Okay. I'll remember, Dean."

"And if you don't, I'll pull you back."

"I know you will."

"Good, can we end this emotional bowl of crap now, please? I feel like I need a shower. And let go of my hand, I can't feel my damn fingers anymore."

"I think…I think you're my real brother."

"It's what I been tryin' to tell ya, man."

"You're not dead or in Hell. You're here."

"I am. And I ain't goin' nowhere."

"Legos and army men?"

"Hang on to it, Sammy. Just…hang onto it."

* * *

The end.


	2. Mantra

Legos and Army Men

Chapter 2: Mantra

**Note:** I didn't intend to do a Chapter 2 for this story, but the idea came to me, so here is it. Unlike the first part, this is not a dialogue-only piece and it takes place immediately after the events in Chapter 1.

* * *

Moments passed after Sam's latest inner battle with his hallucinations and Lucifer's derisions. He sat up on the couch. Dean patted his knee.

"You want something to drink?"

"Uh, yeah. Just water I guess," Sam said roughly as he cleared his throat. His head felt funny and he blinked hard several times to try and chase the fog away. It seemed to help.

Dean kept one eye on his brother as he strode to the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge. He grabbed one for himself, refusing the temptation to suck down a before-noon beer instead. Figuring to grab a snack, he found Bobby's pantry stocked with more guns and ammo than food, but he did manage to dig out a bag of pretzels that seemed edible enough. The crinkling of the bag obstructed Sam's voice from the other room, but Dean heard it second time around.

"Dean?"

Dean called back from the kitchen. "Right here, Sam. You okay?"

When Sam didn't answer, Dean hurried back to the couch and sat down next to his brother.

"Sammy?"

"He's back."

"Damn it! You see him now, where is he? Does he look like me?"

"Next to you. Dean..."

"It's okay, Sam. Remember what we talked about. Think about it. Say it. Repeat it." Moving closer to his brother, Dean adjusted his position so that their shoulders were touching. "That's me, Sam. So if you see me anywhere else other than stuck to your right shoulder, that isn't me."

The disheveled, confused appearance slid over Sam's face - calm moments before - as he struggled to ignore Lucifer's latest blast of mind-warfare. Eyes closed, the mantra that Dean had given him, _Legos and Army men_, he repeated over and over in his head, to the extent that he began mouthing the words without saying them aloud. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dean had moved to sit on the table in front of him. Or had he? Hadn't Dean just told him that if he saw another version of him anywhere but at his shoulder, it wasn't him? But it looked like him and sounded like him and offered those words of safety that Sam so desperately needed to hear. It had to be Dean. It had to be. He'd reach out to him and Dean would reach back and hang onto his hand like before. And then everything would be okay.

Sam's hand reached forward. Another hand gently pushed it back down. That hand came from his right. Sam felt something leaning into his shoulder. The hand that pushed his down, now sat on his arm. Dean? This was the real Dean. Right? _Legos and Army men._ _Legos and Army men._ But the other Dean – or was this the real Dean? No, the other was still in front of him, reaching to him. It had to be Dean.

The next voice though came from his right. It was close. Familiar.

"Remember what I told you, Sammy. I'm still here, leaning on your shoulder. I haven't moved, just like I said. If you see me sitting in front of you, that's Lucifer. Not real. Me, here, shoulder, real. Legos and Army men, man. Don't stop remembering. Say it out loud if you have to. Say it to me. This me - over here on your right. Sam, look at me. Say it."

With fear-borne hesitation, Sam shakily turned his head towards the Dean on his right.

Dean smiled at him. "That's it, Sam. Now say it. You can do this."

"Dean."

"Right here. Shoulder. Remember the words, Sam."

"Legos and Army men."

"That's it."

"Legos and Army men…feel stupid saying this."

"Yeah, well you_ look_ stupid saying it too…"

Somewhere from deep inside his utterly confused pschye, Sam puffed out a laugh and stared at his brother.

"What the hell's so funny?"

"I know you're the real Dean for sure now."

"Yeah, and who say's my smart ass remarks aren't good for something, huh? Now, keep saying it."

For several long minutes, Sam repeated his mantra. Lucifer/Dean weaved in and out of his sight like a manic yo-yo. The taunts didn't stop, but the intensity of them lessened until Sam settled himself enough to push the hallucination away completely.

"S'good now."

"Yeah? You sure? No more double Dean?"

"Can't handle two of you. Can barely handle one."

"Who's the smart ass now?"

"Learned from the best."

"Can't argue with that one. Here's your water."

Dean handed the cooled plastic bottle to his brother and moved to get up from the couch. To his surprise, Sam stopped him.

"Dean, no, just…sit. Please."

The cushioned fell under the returning weight. "You said he was gone, Sam."

"Yeah, he is. It's just…I know it's you if you're here." Shoulders leaned together again. "And…"

Sam was greeted with a small smile. "No worries, Sammy. We'll just sit here as long as we need to. Lean back." He pulled Sam with him to settle against the back of the couch. "Got the TV remote, turn on some crap cable and realize there's nothing on TV in the middle of the day except…there it is! Dr. Sexy, M.D."

Laying his head back on the cushion, Sam groaned.

"Shut up, Sam, we're watching it. Haven't seen this in ages!"

"Dean, come on. It reminds of when we were on that Japanese game show."

"The wha….oh yeah…oh, ouch. Now _that_ is a _painful _memory."

"S'alright. Gonna close my eyes anyway and try this sleep thing again."

Surprised that Sam would even attempt sleep again right now, Dean turned to him.

"You sure?"

"I can't be afraid to sleep. I've gotta deal with this crap somehow. Maybe this whole Legos army guy mantra thing will work. Or at least _help_ a little."

"Helped once already."

"Yeah. You stayin'?"

"Here? Now? With Dr. Sexy on? Yeah, right. My ass is parked, man."

"Just askin'."

Dean slid another inch to his left, then flopped back, crossed his arms and posted his feet on the table. Not once did his shoulder come away from his brother's.

He glanced to his side and cheeked a half smile. "Not goin' anywhere, Sammy."

Sam's quiet sigh of relief followed, even if sleep didn't. The brother's were quiet.

Neither said another word - until forty minutes later when Lucifer again started dragging at those thin threads of sanity within Sam's brittle mind.

Then together, they began the mantra again.

* * *

_The End _

**(P.S. If I can think of another idea for a chapter 3, I'll do it, but as of now, this story is complete. Thanks everyone for reading!)**


End file.
